The location and procedures for the execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner are spelled out in Utah Code Annotated Section 77-19-10. This statute provides that “The executive director of the Department of Corrections or his designee shall ensure that the method of judgment of death specified in the warrant is carried out at a secure correctional facility operated by the department and at an hour determined by the department on the date specified in the warrant….If the judgment of death is to be carried out by firing squad…the executive director of the department or his designee shall select a five-person firing squad of peace officers. Compensation for … members of the firing squad … shall be in an amount determined by the director of the Division of Finance.”
Under the Utah Statute authorizing the Firing Squad, there appears that there is no immunity provision for a murder charge for the Firing Squad personnel.
Is this an oversight by the legislature or is immunity found elsewhere in the Utah Code? If you know the answer, please answer this question in the comment section of this blog. Certainly the employees of the Utah Department of Corrections need assurances that there is absolutely no criminal liability for participating in the Firing Squad.
Related posts:
- Firing Squad Still an Option for Utah Convicted Murderer
- Death Penalty Debate Surrounds Salt Lake City
- Arraignment Set for Accused Utah Murderer Curtis Allgier
- Death Penalty Protest in Salt Lake City set for Monday April 12th
Tags: death penalty, murder
